Head Coach Brian Daboll

Brian Daboll: It was much like last game, came down to a few plays. Made a few more than they did, and we get to move on here. So good game, trip back and get ready to play Philly here.

Q. How about holding the poise the way they did in the hostile atmosphere?

A. Yeah, we were here last time. We knew what it was going to be. Crowd is great here. Atmosphere is excellent. It was cranking today. I think the most important thing are the things you need to do when you're playing in those type of environments, the others, you're going to hear it but you get your calls in quickly, make sure we're in the right formation huddle-wise, communicate personnel. All those things, that's what makes the difference. Coaches, players, did a good job.

Q. Can you describe the way Daniel Jones played today?

A. Played good. Played good.

Q. Just "good"?

A. Yeah. Played good. Good football.

Q. You really gave Daniel the ball today. Saquon caught the ball but he didn't run it a lot, Daniel running, Daniel passing, you seem to be understating how well he played in the situation?

A. Wasn't good a good adjective to use?

Q. Good? It's good --

A. I'm not a writer, I'm just a coach so, look, Daniel, I've said it all year. He's been good for us. Continues to be good for us. He played a good game. I think there was a lot of other people that played good games to help him play a good game and he'll be the first to admit it. But as a leader on our football team, I'm proud of him.

Q. Daniel running the ball is that something you guys felt was going to be there for you going in or something you figured out?

A. I would say the game plan that we put together on offense was the game plan for the game. What we did is what we wanted to do. There's always adjustments but I thought (Mike) Kafka and all the assistant coaches had the guys ready to play and thought they called a really good game.

Q. What did you see in the catch by Hodgins on the last drive of the game?

A. The one where it was close? They were telling me upstairs, he might have it and I said just go to the line and quick on the next play. I don't think you risk it, if you can get it off there and go, that was a big play in the game. We threw the challenge for that but they gave it back to me because they went and re-spotted, anyways, on the fourth down. Yeah, it was a good team effort today.

Q. What did you guys do against Jefferson, 7 for 47 and nothing after the first drive?

A. Played good team defense. That's what's required when you play a really good player. Wink (Martindale) and the staff did a good job. They hit some plays, they hit some plays and got some good players, but one key was not to let 18-beat us. I thought the plan, and most important, the execution by the players, that's what's most important.

Q. Two fourth-and-ones, any consideration to kicking in either of those spots?

A. No. No. We were going after it. We were going to go try to win a game. We have confidence in Daniel moving the pile, and not going to live with the consequences.

Q. The touchdown run that put you guys ahead --

A. The short one?

Q. The one where he ran and just powered him in the end zone, I know you've seen that from Saquon all year but is that as much desire and drive that you want to see in that situation?

A. Absolutely, yeah. Only need a couple yards to get it in and put it in his hands, and I thought he did a great job. The guys pushed him and kept his legs driving. Good play.

Q. What about the declining that holding penalty, they would have second and 19, what was the thought process there?

A. It's what we thought was best for the team.

Q. After the drop Darius had on the third down, what did you say to him?

A. I said, "Put your head up." He made a lot of good plays for us. That could have gone a ways -- at least first down. He's such a good teammate, he's done everything he can do for us the entire year. You make a physical mistake, that's going to happen in football and he made one at a critical time and there's no one that felt worse than him. So we need him. He's one of our best players on offense. I have a lot of confidence in him and I just told him to get his chin up and we need him to go back out there and he's ready to go.

Q. He seemed pretty anguished on the bench, Darius.

A. Yeah. I mean, he had an opportunity and just quite didn't connect. That's how much he cares about the team. Again we've got a bunch of guys like that.

Q. What's the feeling, your first opportunity to win a game in the playoff as a head coach, not only for you but for that locker room that has been through some lean years.

A. Yeah, I know I'm happy. I'm happy for the players first and foremost. They are the ones out there doing it between the lines. Happy are to the coaches and scouts, ownership. You know that's why you do this, you play these type of games and there's not really a lot of time to reflect on these games. I don't know when we're playing, I guess it will be Saturday, not that anybody's told me that. But we've got to get home and start grinding away this time of year.

Q. What was your message to them in the locker room afterwards?

A. Congratulations. Good team win. Get showered and let's get out of here.

Q. When the game ended, the camera showed you looking to the sky and taking a moment, what was on your mind there?

A. That's private. Private moment. Private moment. Just -- yeah, private moment. I don't want to talk about it.

Q. Is it fair to -- never mind.

A. No, I don't want to talk about because then I'll choke up, so I don't want to talk about it.

Q. Was it the moment that you had in the first game?

A. Yes.

Q. You guys made -- I think back to the Ravens game when Mark Andrews killed you all game long, you made a couple coverage changes.

A. I gotcha.

Q. Mark Andrews, you guys seemed to switch up the coverage lane and put McKinney on Hockenson and he punished you all game long. For McKinney to make that play in that situation what does that say not only about him but you guy defensively making that?

A. Yeah, that's our job as a coaching staff to make sure we are making adjustments as the game goes on. Maybe throw more, run it less, put a different down on somebody. I've got a lot of confidence in Wink and the defensive staff and that's something that we talked about after he hit a little short post on it, and we put X (Xavier McKinney) on him. Good to have X back, good to have Adoree' back, good to have all those guys back.

Q. What do you say about Adoree', missing seven games and going out there to cover Justin Jefferson.

A. He's a good player. He's a pro and done it a long time. I'm glad he's on our team but I don't -- that's what the players now try to do, when they are ready to play, play good. When you're a good player, play good, no more, no less.

Q. Last time you were here, two turnovers, you kept on pointing to them, Daniel had his hands on the ball a lot running, passing, you guys didn't turn the ball over once, that was obviously going to be a critical thing for you?

A. Yeah, it's huge.

Q. That's the trust that you have in him to protect it and not throw it away, those kind of things?

A. Absolutely, he's done it all year.

Q. Seemed like a lifetime ago but what was the delay like in the beginning of the game, when they told you you would have to wait? Just hanging out in the locker room?

A. Ate a banana, drank a half bottle of water and went out there.

Q. Any idea on Ojulari? Is it serious?

A. Pinnock I know is at the hospital. I don't know any -- I was just told that he went to the hospital.

Q. Is it stomach?

A. I don't know, until I get back in there.

Q. What do you think about getting a third crack at the Eagles?

A. We have a lot of work to do, go back, look at his tape, correct what we need to correct. We've got a lot of work to do but it's enjoyable work, to be able to do work at this time of year.

Q. What does it say about your team that the key plays made late are by Cor'Dale Flott, Dane Belton?

A. Kenny Golladay – did you see that block? Everything is team. It's all about our team. It's not an individual sport. But individuals have to play well and when they get their opportunity, they have to make the most of it, whether it's five plays, 70 plays, you know, coach, player, trainer. We've all got jobs to do and I expect those guys from their work ethic, their commitment to the team to go out there and give it their all.

Q. But everybody expects the guys to do that. Why are your guys actually doing it? Why do you think?

A. I mean, we work hard. We're a scrappy bunch. We work hard. Certainly a lot of things we can always get better at but there's a good amount of humility in that room of just play the next play. No one is bigger than the team, execute your assignments. And I've talked a lot about this before again. Preparation, practice, things that we've done, you know, I know we rested those guys last week -- but something like that we thought was best for the team. I thought the guys were fresh, ready to go. But next week is a new week. You've got to enjoy this one in less than 24 hours, these type of games.

Q. You mentioned Kenny. With the season that he's had, it would be understandable if he went into a shell, he's not playing a ton but seems like when he gets out there, what does it say about him?

A. That he's a competitor. He's kept his head down and worked as hard as he can and when his number is called, he's tried to do the best job he can. I've got a lot of respect for all the guys in our room, all of them.

Q. I was going to say, the last time you played Minnesota, you didn't have a lot of design runs for Daniel, only ran the ball four times. What did you say that made you come back and say, that's a big part of our game plan?

A. There's a few designs, obviously, there's some scrambles. I think that for this game we thought that was something that maybe we didn't do at all last game that we thought would be a new wrinkle. Some people have seen us do it. We have a wide variety of them. You know, there's games we've done a lot, games we have done a little and we just thought this would be a good time, like all the games we game plan for, if it gives us a chance, if it doesn't, only have 65, 70 left in the season so better make them the ones that you think are going to work.

Quarterback Daniel Jones

Q. What was it like playing in that atmosphere today and holding it together the way you did?

A. It was a great atmosphere, great -- had a fair amount of Giants fans, so appreciated that support. Yeah, it was helpful having been in this environment a few weeks ago and it was a fun environment.

Q. What has this win meant for you?

A. I think it's a big win for us. Obviously a big playoff game. I thought we played well in all three phases and did enough to win the game. We'll enjoy it tonight, but we have a lot of work to do moving forward.

Q. Coming in, did you know you were going to have those opportunities?

A. Not necessarily. I think just kind of felt it as the game unfolded and just took advantage of some of those opportunities. I thought the guys up front did a really good job with the pass rush and opened up some lanes. Credit to them.

Q. Does it feel like the offense is in a groove when you're out there? From afar it looks like you guys are finally getting the confidence. Does it feel that way when you're out there?

A. Yeah, I think we have had some of our better games recently and found some stuff that works for us, so we'll keep doing it. I thought the coaching staff did a great job having us prepared and having a lot of stuff in the plan that we were able to execute well. So credit to them and we'll continue to see where we can improve but yeah, I think we played well.

Q. What enables to you stay so poised in moments like that?

A. Just trying to focus on what I've got to do and focus on just executing and keeping that simple. Not thinking bigger than that and not getting outside of that moment. Just trying to stay present and locked in to what I've got to do.

Q. Are games like this fun for you?

A. Yeah, I think we have a lot of fun. We love the opportunity to compete and play in big games, and I think we all had a lot of fun.

Q. How much have you enjoyed watching the emergence of Hodgins, had some big plays again today?

A. He's done a great job, a great job for us. He's just a really good football player. He knows how to get open, and he made some huge plays for us. Yeah, he's done a great job.

Q. How important was it to flip the game after the Vikings scored first?

A. Yeah, I think that was important for us, just coming out and executing. Regardless of the situation, that's our goal on offense. We're always trying to score touchdowns. Yeah, I think that was important to get off to a fast start.

Q. Physically, you came through it okay? You took a lot of hits?

A. I feel good.

Q. You talk about having fun, I guess what moment of the game stands out for you?

A. I mean, any time we score touchdowns, particularly the last one. I thought Saquon did a great job. You know, pretty much carried their defense into the end zone.

Q. You had a running touchdown that was negated. Were you wondering why nobody was celebrating with you when you got to the end zone there or did you know there was a play?

A. Yeah, I saw it.

Q. The defense was talking about you a lot in the locker room. What do you have to say about the defense?

A. I thought they did a great job all day against a really good offense. A lot of playmakers on the other side of the ball and they stepped up and played big, especially at the end, getting some big stops and giving us the ball. They played huge all day. A lot of credit to them.

Q. What do you think of the resilience of this football team and do you think that's in many ways what defines this Giants ballclub?

A. I do, yeah. I think we've been that way all year. I think we're a tough, competitive group. We've played a lot of close games and found a way to win them. I think that resiliency and mental toughness is a big part of our team.

Q. You had to doubt that Dabs was going to go for those fourth down conversions?

A. Yeah, I had a pretty good idea. Like I said, you want to be in those situations and you want to have the opportunity to convert.

Q. How much did you think you would be running the ball coming into this game?

A. I'm always looking for those opportunities, and some opened up early on in the game. It wasn't necessarily planned.

Q. Inaudible…

A. I'm not really focused on that. Just trying to play as well as I can. We're all trying to do that. We have a special group, a special team, and that's what it's about. Just trying to play as well as I can and win games.

Q. How excited are you for another chance at the Eagles?

A. We're excited. They're a good team. A divisional opponent. We'll prepare this week like we do any week and be as prepared as we can going in.

Q. What does it mean to you to win a playoff game?

A. Yeah, I'm certainly -- it's a big win for our team. Important win for us but we're going to enjoy it, certainly, but put it behind us and big week of prep coming up.

Q. What does it mean to you, though?

A. Means a lot. It means a lot. It's a big win for us and I'm grateful to be a part of it.

Q. What does it mean to you, though? Do you think about the future?

A. I'm focused on what we're doing right now and trying to win football games.

Q. How much is this another check? You talk about all these goals, how much is winning a playoff game another check for you, checking off goals?

A. I don't know, I mean, I'm trying to win every week. Certainly have goals and things I want to accomplish but I'm not focused on that. Just winning every week, and after the season we'll look back, but we have a lot of work ahead of us.

Q. Was it challenging to treat this like every other game?

A. Definitely some nerves going into it. We were excited. Lot of anticipating going into it, but once we settled in and started playing, I think it felt the same. It was just about execution and doing our job play after play, and I thought as a group we did that well.

Q. What did you think of Saquon carrying the defense into the end zone?

A. That was big time. That was an impressive run from him. It was one of those where he wasn't going to be denied. You could sense that. You could see that almost in the huddle before the ball was snapped. He had an expectation. He did a great job there. The offensive line did a great job.

Running Back Saquon Barkley

Q. How impressed were you with Daniel Jones today?

A. I would say I'm impressed. I'm not shocked. He been doing it all year. He's really a special player. You know what a way to start it off. I'm happy for him and proud of him and we're going to need him and keep leaning on him.

Q. What about the offense handling the noise. What allowed you to keep your poise?

A. Yeah, we practice it. We just stuck to the script. Got to credit to the guys up front and all the coaches creating a great game plan and (we) executed.

Q. How important was scoring a touchdown on your opening drive? Place incredibly loud, and you guys punch them right back.

A. It's all about how you respond. All three phases got to play together. Defense gave up a touchdown, we got to help them out. Last drive, we had the ball in our hand, we didn't do it -- that's how it works.

Q. You guys start the season with a gutsy call versus Tennessee where you score a two-point conversion and here Dabs goes for two fourth and ones, including the one right before you scored the game-winning touchdown. What does it say about the confidence he has in you guys?

A. We're not shocked about that. We know the type of coach that he; we rally off that and feed off that. We know he's got the trust and confidence in us and we executed.

Q. It's been a long haul for the Giants to get to the playoffs and yourself; what does it feel like to get that first win?

A. All the other conversations is playing about the past, talking about how long we've been here or experiencing this -- we finally got here and we were able to get the job done and now we go back, watch film, learn from it and move on and get ready for Philly.

Q. Facing this team after coming up short on that 61-yard field goal the last time around?

A. We have confidence because we know the type of man and woman we have in our facility, our locker room, we believe in each other. We are a confident group and we showed that throughout the whole season. If you look at this whole week of playoffs, that's a type of team you've got to beat because every game is going to be close. You've got to lean on each other and trust each other and make plays in critical situation.

Q. Do you know how much Dalvin Tomlinson weighs?

A. No, I know he's really strong now. He'll let me know about it the next drive, like make the tackle and kind of slammed me. He got in my face and let me know.

Q. Daniel Jones said he sensed in the huddle you were going to score?

A. I mean, D.J. looked at me and says, "LFG" and I gave him the look back, you already know. That's the kind of relationship we have with each other. We expect a lot from each other. Got each other's backs and he's made a lot of plays for us this year and came up big for us tonight.

Q. Did he say the initials or the words?

A. Said the words -- if I say the word do I get fined? (Laughter).

Q. You guys were poised out there the whole time despite the crowd being really loud at certain points. What was the communication like and how did you guys manage to keep it together and execute?

A. We practice it. Obviously, you can never really get the exact regimen you're going to get but we did a really good job of locking in, knowing the cadence, knowing who we have, knowing the play and executing.

Q. Talk about your final touchdown run.

A. I would say the whole thing is one, two, two-yard run and playoffs. That's how it is. That's why I feel like we are a confident group because we've been in these games all year. The only difference with this game is if you don't win, you go home. So the stakes are a little higher. But we found ways to win games. We've prepared for these moments all year and you see it through the whole first week of playoffs, whether it's Jacksonville down by however many points and coming back and us coming here in this hostile environment, it's all about the will and all about the confidence and all about the belief in each other, and to you have that, you can go places.

Q. What does this win mean to you after some tough seasons recently?

A. I'm not really getting into all that. I'm kind of just in the mood that, you know, obviously happy that we won but on to the next one. Go back, watch film, nothing we can do about it and take care of it.

Q. The last few years, teams have not been able to get through the playoffs without elite play from their quarterbacks. Do you feel like you have an elite quarterback?

A. I know we have an elite quarterback. I think he's shown that most of the time. But we've also got amazing players around, too, so we've got his back no matter what.

Q. You ran the ball nine times; you guys obviously wanted to come out and throw the ball and you did.

A. I said earlier this week, whatever I got to do to help the team win. If it's carry the ball 50 times, block, run the ball as many times, that's what I'm going to do. We feel like we can throw the ball on this team. We ran the ball well too to be honest but we got the job done, put points on the board, gave us a chance to win and defense closed it out for us.

Q. Speaking what have it takes to win, did you happen to catch that block that Kenny Golladay put on the Vikings DB?

A. Of course, I told him, you couldn't get the safety? He's like, come on. You've got to give a lot of respect to KG. Obviously the season has not been going how he would want it, and obviously you guys say whatever you want to say about him but he's a talented player. He's a really good player and I've just got to respect the grit and the grind of when things are not going your way, coming out a week in Philly and playing every single snap and making a big play and then coming in in a crucial drive and making a big block, so hats off to KG.

Q. Thoughts on playing the Eagles again?

A. Of course, it's Philly, so it's going to be another hostile environment. They got us the first two times but I'm really not getting too much into Philly to be honest. Go back on this plane, hydrate, watch film -- just keep it like that.

Q. Over the year when your offense had success, getting 25, 30 touches, this game, you didn't have to get that many touches, the offense was rolling anyway. What does it say about the growth of this unit and your quarterback the way the offense has expanded where you're a part of it but not like 85 percent?

A. Yeah, I think hats off to all the guys, offensive line, tight ends, D.J., Kav, designing the plays up. We're finding the rhythm. We felt like we had a rhythm going in end of the season, found our identity again. We had a different identity beginning of the season. Find a new identity and you know, we're executing it. Who knows, next week it could be a different type of game. So I'm just ready for whatever I need to do, whatever Coach asks me to do and try and help this team win.

Q. Were you surprised when you looked up and there was so much open space in front of you on some of those passes? You caught the ball, turned, looked there was a lot of space sometimes?

A. No. We didn't come into the game that they were going to be really locked in and focused on my swings. We had some like inserted stuff like that where we would confuse the linebackers and give me a chance to get me one-on-one, so no, I'm not surprised. Kav and all those guys, they did a great job game planning that stuff and we executed those plays.

Outside Linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux

Q. What does this win say about the New York Football Giants

A. We were going to fight today. As you know we're a bunch of humble cats and we were blessed with the opportunity. Man, we were proud to be here. We are proud to have this opportunity.

Q. To win a playoff game in your rookie year, how special is that?

A. It's once-in-a-lifetime. Not too many people get this opportunity with being able to play in the NFL, but to also play in the postseason, and to really contribute to a great team.

Q. What do you think about the Eagles?

A. I think they're a great team. They've done it all. They have the players. But it's the playoffs, so we're going to have to come with everything. We're going to take our corrections and we're just going to keep getting throughout the week.

Wide Receiver Isaiah Hodgins

Q. This is now the 2nd game for you against the Vikings where you put up big numbers. The confidence level must have been high coming in.

A. I feel like our confidence level is high every week. There is not a lot of people believing in us. We come in with that chip on our shoulder every week and try to go out there and prove people wrong.

Q. What do you think about playing Philadelphia for a third time?

A. It's the next game so it's the most important game. We have got to do our best to go back in the film room, prepare, and execute to see what we did wrong the first time to fix the mistakes for the upcoming game.

Q. What was it about this matchup that made you confident about the absences?

A. I think it's all about how the first game went. The couple of turnovers that the offense had and bad routes that I ran. There were plays we knew we could have executed better. We went into this game knowing we can't hurt ourselves. We knew if we didn't do that we could come up on top.

Q. Isaiah, you have 5 touchdowns in the last 6 games. What do you have to say about that?

A. It's a team effort. I know that is a cliché answer, but it really is. On offense, we need all the wide receivers to do their job, and make the correct routes, and reads. The quarterback and offensive line have got to do their job as well. It's a credit to the whole team. It's easy to point at me, but it is truly the whole team.

Q. What was the message in the locker room after the game?

A. The next one is the most important one. It's a divisional opponent that we are used to and have seen a couple of times. We have got to go out there, stay humble, and get ready to get another win.

Wide Receiver Darius Slayton

Q. This is now the 2nd game for you against the Vikings where you put up big numbers. The confidence level must have been high coming in.

A. I feel like our confidence level is high every week. There is not a lot of people believing in us. We come in with that chip on our shoulder every week and try to go out there and prove people wrong.

Q. What do you think about playing Philadelphia for a third time?

A. It's the next game so it's the most important game. We have got to do our best to go back in the film room, prepare, and execute to see what we did wrong the first time to fix the mistakes for the upcoming game.

Q. What was it about this matchup that made you confident about the absences?

A. I think it's all about how the first game went. The couple of turnovers that the offense had and bad routes that I ran. There were plays we knew we could have executed better. We went into this game knowing we can't hurt ourselves. We knew if we didn't do that we could come up on top.

Q. Isaiah, you have 5 touchdowns in the last 6 games. What do you have to say about that?

A. It's a team effort. I know that is a cliché answer, but it really is. On offense, we need all the wide receivers to do their job, and make the correct routes, and reads. The quarterback and offensive line have got to do their job as well. It's a credit to the whole team. It's easy to point at me, but it is truly the whole team.

Q. What was the message in the locker room after the game?

A. The next one is the most important one. It's a divisional opponent that we are used to and have seen a couple of times. We have got to go out there, stay humble, and get ready to get another win.

Safety Xavier McKinney

Q How special was that to you when you brought down Hockenson on the last play?

A. It was special, but I know we have another game to go. I can't be too high on it, but I made the play, and we got off the field and won the game. That was the play to win it.

Q. What does that say about your defense after the Vikings drove on you a couple of times and got some touchdowns, but when it came down to the end you got stops when you needed them?

A. We never quit. We are resilient. We play hard. That's just a part of our defense and something that we preach. Our main focus is to attack every time. We are trying to make sure the offense doesn't score. We had some hiccups here and there, but when it counted we got the stops.

Q. What did you think of your offense and Daniel Jones today?

A. Great job. They are on a roll. He and Saquon are leading the way. I cannot give enough credit to those guys. They have done a lot.

Q. What do you think about the job you guys did on Jefferson in the 2nd half?

A. I thought we did a great job. We keyed in and executed. We did a great job by not letting him beat us.